Mooney is everything as LZ knocks off Lakes
A slow start was not going to stop visiting Lake Zurich in the Bears' North Suburban Conference boys basketball crossover game Saturday night at Lakes.
The host Eagles jumped out to a 13-6 first-quarter lead, but Lake Zurich went on a 21-4 run in the first half en route to a 55-45 victory.
Lakes (13-6) trailed 27-17 late in the second quarter before Lake Zurich (8-8) took a 29-22 lead into halftime as junior guard Connor Mooney scored 18 of his game-high 27 points in the first half.
The Eagles did put together an 8-point run to cut the lead to 34-32 on a drive by Dan Kalb with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter. But Lake Zurich took a 42-33 advantage headed into the fourth quarter.
"Give Lake Zurich credit. They were strong and physical against us, and they took us out of our continuity on offense," said Lakes coach Brian Phelan. "No. 10 (Mooney) is a nice player and we started off well against him, but he kind of got hot and we didn't adjust to his quickness."
The Eagles stayed close down the stretch with a basket off a turnover by Kevin Rice, cutting the Bears' lead to 44-41 with 3:13 to play.
But Lake Zurich outscored Lakes 11-4 the rest of the way with 6-of-6 foul-shooting in the final 32.8 seconds to seal the victory.
"We played well as a team, everybody contributed, and that is what we need to carry over to league play," said Mooney. "I was happy with the way I played. I had a few turnovers here and there but we got the 'W' so I can't argue with that."
Junior Brandon Kunz also hit double figures for the Bears with 15 points while teammate Brandon Baum added 8.
Rice led the Eagles with 14 points with teammate Kevin Guirand had 13. Kalb finished with 9.
"I was very pleased with the way our kids stepped up on the road, and Mooney did a good job of putting the ball in the basket," said Lake Zurich coach John Zarr. "Baum played, by far, his best game since he's been in our program. He played a big part in us winning the ballgame."
-- John Bumbales
Johnsburg 60, Grayslake C. 54: For coach Matt Ryndak's Johnsburg squad, Saturday's hardœfought victory at Grayslake Central did more than set a winning pace in divisional play.
The 60-54 win provided the young and talented Skyhawks with an invaluable element: confidence.
After trailing for most of the first three quarters, Johnsburg (8-9, 1-0 Fox Valley Conference Fox Division) outscored Grayslake Central 20-8 in the final frame to shock the Rams (11œ5, 0-1).
Ryndak said the victory would instantly lift the spirits of his team, which sports three sophomores in its starting lineup.
"We knew coming in that we were going to have our hands full," Ryndak said. "(Grayslake Central) is a really good team, well coached. This is a great win for us confidence-wise."
Johnsburg began the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by sophomore guard Tyler Chambers, who lead all scorers with 18 points. Fellow sophomore Mike Dixon scored 13 for the Skyhawks.
"This is a great confidence builder for us," Dixon said. "We played a great team. We needed that win big-time."
For Grayslake Central, a late scoring drought derailed a fairly consistent effort. A feisty Ram defense coerced 17 turnovers and held 6-foot-7 Johnsburg sophomore C.J. Fiedorowicz to just 8 points.
But while the Skyhawks' star pivot player struggled for offensive opportunities, Dixon, Chambers and a host of others picked up the slack.
"(Grayslake Central) is very difficult to play against because they trap you and don't give you anything in the post," Ryndak said. "We couldn't force anything because their post players were working so hard."
Senior guard Mike Davis led the Rams with 16 points and sophomore forward Andrew Sipes added 14.
Grayslake Central will hope to rebound from the stunning home loss while Johnsburg looks to build on the success.
"We made some mistakes but we kept battling, kept being aggressive," Ryndak said. "This group of kids, for whatever they may lack in basketball skill they make up for in heart."
-- Andrew Peck
Lake Forest 51, Deerfield 42: Matt Vogrich and Andy Timson scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Scouts in the nonconference game.
Matt Janes added 10 for Lake Forest (11-6).